DCL (DIGITAL Command Language) is the basic operating system of machines like the TITAN mainframe (a DEC ALPHA, OpenVMS) which houses student and other accounts. Below is a list of commonly used and useful commands that will help you in using your TITAN account. NOTE: The typical DCL prompt, and specifically the default TITAN prompt, appears as a dollar sign: $. Commands below will be preceded by a $ to signify the prompt which is where you should be while entering such commands.

For a list of commands and help on commands, simply type "help" at the $ prompt. Also, many of the facilities provided have their own Help files and Help command which you should find to be very useful.

$ Dir

This is the Directory command. This command will list all files located in your current directory.

$ delete

Used in deleting files. To delete a file you will need to include not only the file name but also the current version number. All files will appear in the following format: name.extension;version number EX: $ del blah.txt;l (this will delete the file named blah.txt and only delete the file with the version number of I ) NOTE: You may substitute an asterisk (*) in the place of any file name, file extension or version number. This is not something to mess with if you do not know what you are doing because you could easily delete all of your files. For example, "$ del bl*.txt;*" will delete all files beginning with the two letters "bl" and having the extension ".txt". The asterisk in place of the version number says to delete all versions matching the file description given.

$ rename

Allows the copying of one file to another file with the original version still existing.

EX: $ copy blah.txt junk.txt (creates a new file called junk.txt with the exact same contents as blah.txt, and blah.txt still exists) Allows for the renaming of a specified file. EX: $ rename blah.txt junk.txt (changes the name of blah.txt to junk.txt with the oldest version of blah.txt being removed)

$ Pine

PINE is a menu-driven e-mail system. Handouts with basic commands and more information on PINE can be found in the Boynton Computing Lab, room 109 of the Boynton Building.

$ email

E-mail is a command-line driven e-mail system. Handouts with basic commands can be found in the Boynton Computing Lab, room 109 of the Boynton Building.

$ news

This command will give you access to thousands of Usenet Newsgroups. Newsgroups allow people from around the world to post messages on thousands of topics. For more help after entering News, type "help" for a list of commands.

$ gopher

Gopher is a menu-driven system which allows you to access hundreds of directories containing various information from around the world.

$ lynx or $ www

Lynx is a text-based World Wide Web browser. This means you can access the World Wide Web, but you will only have text appearing on your screen and no graphics.

$ swing

Swing is a menu-driven directory system whereby you can create, access and remove directories from your account. You can also, among many other things, move, access and delete files while in Swing.

$ edit

Edit allows the modification or creation of a file. This is a very useful command but also a very complex one and requires knowledge of the editor (for more information, be sure to read the on-line help files on Edit). Basic commands: $ edit blah.txt (brings the file blah.txt into the editor for modifications) [End of File] or [EOF] signifies the end (bottom) of the file CONTROL-Z will exit the editor and save the file.

$ phone

The phone facility allows you to talk to another user on the TITAN mainframe. Your screen is divided in half with one account appearing on bottom and the other appearing on top. Whatever you type appears in your half of the screen. EX: $ phone z_smithab If z_smithab is logged in, they will see a message stating that you are trying to phone them. They may answer by typing "answer" at the $ prompt. To exit phone, type SHIFT-5 (for the % sign) and then type "exit." For other commands after entering phone, type "help." NOTE: Abuse of the phone facility (harassing other users for example) can lead to having your account disusered or removed from the system.

$ talk

Talk is similar to Phone except it allows you to converse with users on other systems besides TITAN (even off-campus, providing the other system has a similar Talk program). You will need to know the person's e-mail address for Talk to work and like Phone they will have to be logged in at the time you attempt a Talk session. EX: $ talk someone@no.where.com (you would answer in the same fashion if they were sending a Talk request to you. The ring command is turned off by default, so the person must either have their phone ringer turned on, or turn it on whenever you call.